Kass Sjostrom
@ksjostrom.bsky.social
(he/him) PhD candidate and Public Health enthusiast. I study Mycobacterium. My views are my own.
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
Beile Gao on Flagella Co-opted Type IV Pili Alignment Subcomplex in Deep Ocean
See their @natmicrobiol.nature.com paper on Campylobacter jejuni flagellum motor as a teaser: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#EMBOBacNet
See their @natmicrobiol.nature.com paper on Campylobacter jejuni flagellum motor as a teaser: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#EMBOBacNet
Structural insights into the assembly and evolution of a complex bacterial flagellar motor - Nature Microbiology
Structural, genetic, functional and biochemical analyses of the complex flagellar motor of Campylobacter jejuni reveal structural adaptations with an ancient origin also found more widely across bacte...
www.nature.com
September 15, 2026 at 7:49 AM
Beile Gao on Flagella Co-opted Type IV Pili Alignment Subcomplex in Deep Ocean
See their @natmicrobiol.nature.com paper on Campylobacter jejuni flagellum motor as a teaser: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#EMBOBacNet
See their @natmicrobiol.nature.com paper on Campylobacter jejuni flagellum motor as a teaser: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#EMBOBacNet
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
L'article de The Conversation : theconversation.com/biological-s...
Biological sex is neither binary nor a spectrum – a biologist explains how it’s multidimensional
Each person is a mosaic of sex-related and postpubertal biological traits that vary in their degree of femaleness and maleness.
theconversation.com
September 15, 2026 at 8:57 AM
L'article de The Conversation : theconversation.com/biological-s...
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
Another important legal victory for @afthighered.bsky.social
Judge Blocks Trump Rule Aimed at International Students and Journalists (Gift Article)
Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV wrote that the administration’s reasons for a rule limiting the length of stay for academics and journalists were “exceptionally weak.”
www.nytimes.com
September 15, 2026 at 3:35 AM
Another important legal victory for @afthighered.bsky.social
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
Wow, the US is really making life hard for international students
First they imposed a fixed four-year maximum cap for international student (F-1) & exchange visitor (J-1) visas
Now they want $100,000 to allow them to work in the U.S. after they graduate
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
First they imposed a fixed four-year maximum cap for international student (F-1) & exchange visitor (J-1) visas
Now they want $100,000 to allow them to work in the U.S. after they graduate
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Exclusive | U.S. Weighs $100,000 Fee for Foreign Students Wanting to Work After Graduation
The proposed policy would particularly affect Silicon Valley, Wall Street and universities.
www.wsj.com
September 14, 2026 at 1:38 AM
Wow, the US is really making life hard for international students
First they imposed a fixed four-year maximum cap for international student (F-1) & exchange visitor (J-1) visas
Now they want $100,000 to allow them to work in the U.S. after they graduate
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
First they imposed a fixed four-year maximum cap for international student (F-1) & exchange visitor (J-1) visas
Now they want $100,000 to allow them to work in the U.S. after they graduate
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
Regardless of your thoughts on voting strategies, the way trans people are being spoken to and about by self-described "progressives" and "allies" is absolutely wild.
September 13, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Regardless of your thoughts on voting strategies, the way trans people are being spoken to and about by self-described "progressives" and "allies" is absolutely wild.
"Rebel with too many causes" but as a gamechanger prompt
September 12, 2026 at 1:27 AM
"Rebel with too many causes" but as a gamechanger prompt
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
🧪Depressing news about political interference in NSF, NIST & NOAA ... to change the policy to allow political interference.
Excellent & detailed reporting/analysis by @aip.bsky.social as usual.
Excellent & detailed reporting/analysis by @aip.bsky.social as usual.
Science Agencies Pull ‘Political Interference’ Protections From Scientific Integrity Policies
NSF and the Department of Commerce have scrubbed references to the dangers of political interference in science from official agency policy documents.
www.aip.org
September 11, 2026 at 8:53 PM
🧪Depressing news about political interference in NSF, NIST & NOAA ... to change the policy to allow political interference.
Excellent & detailed reporting/analysis by @aip.bsky.social as usual.
Excellent & detailed reporting/analysis by @aip.bsky.social as usual.
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
Amazing #glycotime opportunity to become a postdoctoral fellow for up and coming glycoscientist Prof. Kim Tsui at the CCRC! Click here sfg.memberclicks.net/post-doctora... to learn more. She is amazing. 🧪 #STEMjobs
Post Doctoral Research Associate
sfg.memberclicks.net
September 9, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Amazing #glycotime opportunity to become a postdoctoral fellow for up and coming glycoscientist Prof. Kim Tsui at the CCRC! Click here sfg.memberclicks.net/post-doctora... to learn more. She is amazing. 🧪 #STEMjobs
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
Huge congratulations to the US-based Wikimedia Foundation employees who voted with 92% support in favor of unionizing, and shoutout to the tireless work of the organizers.
Wikimedia Foundation Workers Overwhelmingly Vote to Form Union with CWA
U.S. workers form first recognized unit as global union movement builds across Wikimedia Foundation
wikiworkersunited.org
September 5, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Huge congratulations to the US-based Wikimedia Foundation employees who voted with 92% support in favor of unionizing, and shoutout to the tireless work of the organizers.
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
The Department of Biomedical Sciences trains students to be outstanding research scientists for careers in research, teaching and/or public health in academia, government, or the private sector. Learn more: www.albany.edu/cihs/biomedi...
May 11, 2026 at 1:03 PM
The Department of Biomedical Sciences trains students to be outstanding research scientists for careers in research, teaching and/or public health in academia, government, or the private sector. Learn more: www.albany.edu/cihs/biomedi...
I had a wonderful time at Phages this August (2026 Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and Phages Meeting). It was such an honor to present my ongoing thesis work. My first talk (vs poster) at a conference. Thrilling!
September 6, 2026 at 4:23 PM
I had a wonderful time at Phages this August (2026 Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and Phages Meeting). It was such an honor to present my ongoing thesis work. My first talk (vs poster) at a conference. Thrilling!
🙃 I hate this
Life comes at you fast.
One minute you're an unknown health economist rushing to publish a hasty study of COVID incidence in Santa Clara and the next thing you know you're signing away a good fraction of the NIH's budget to the Department of Defense.
One minute you're an unknown health economist rushing to publish a hasty study of COVID incidence in Santa Clara and the next thing you know you're signing away a good fraction of the NIH's budget to the Department of Defense.
September 4, 2026 at 10:33 PM
🙃 I hate this
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
I keep being asked about if I'm doing a book:
1. Yes! Portfolio/Penguin Random House
2. It's called The Hater's Guide To Silicon Valley
3. It's out July 2027.
4. It is currently going through edits! I have written it between podcasts/newsletters. I have been very busy!
1. Yes! Portfolio/Penguin Random House
2. It's called The Hater's Guide To Silicon Valley
3. It's out July 2027.
4. It is currently going through edits! I have written it between podcasts/newsletters. I have been very busy!
September 1, 2026 at 4:48 AM
I keep being asked about if I'm doing a book:
1. Yes! Portfolio/Penguin Random House
2. It's called The Hater's Guide To Silicon Valley
3. It's out July 2027.
4. It is currently going through edits! I have written it between podcasts/newsletters. I have been very busy!
1. Yes! Portfolio/Penguin Random House
2. It's called The Hater's Guide To Silicon Valley
3. It's out July 2027.
4. It is currently going through edits! I have written it between podcasts/newsletters. I have been very busy!
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
Google wasted no time complying with Trump’s “Lake America” order. That's no surprise, considering its track record.
Google's obedience to Trump's "Lake America" order follows a depressing pattern.
The tech giant renamed Lake Ontario for American eyes only—and hedged everywhere else.
www.motherjones.com
September 1, 2026 at 6:11 AM
Google wasted no time complying with Trump’s “Lake America” order. That's no surprise, considering its track record.
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
Answered a bunch of Qs by email from a student journalist about current foreign student policy. She asked if the attack on foreign students was temporary. I said the attacks are temporary, but the damage done is long term & profound to the reputation of US higher ed + its research capacities.
August 29, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Answered a bunch of Qs by email from a student journalist about current foreign student policy. She asked if the attack on foreign students was temporary. I said the attacks are temporary, but the damage done is long term & profound to the reputation of US higher ed + its research capacities.
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
If this were happening somewhere else, we would call them what they are: Internally Displaced People.
Its been compared to the great migration.
August 28, 2026 at 11:30 PM
If this were happening somewhere else, we would call them what they are: Internally Displaced People.
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
What does it mean to participate in a library?
🔖 Save a webpage. 📚 Improve a book record. 🔎 Discover a document. 📣 Share a collection. 🏛️ Preserve local history.
The Internet Archive has tools for it all.
Over 8 weeks, we'll show you how.
➡️ blog.archive.org/2026/08/17/r...
#ToolsYouCanUse
🔖 Save a webpage. 📚 Improve a book record. 🔎 Discover a document. 📣 Share a collection. 🏛️ Preserve local history.
The Internet Archive has tools for it all.
Over 8 weeks, we'll show you how.
➡️ blog.archive.org/2026/08/17/r...
#ToolsYouCanUse
August 29, 2026 at 2:00 AM
What does it mean to participate in a library?
🔖 Save a webpage. 📚 Improve a book record. 🔎 Discover a document. 📣 Share a collection. 🏛️ Preserve local history.
The Internet Archive has tools for it all.
Over 8 weeks, we'll show you how.
➡️ blog.archive.org/2026/08/17/r...
#ToolsYouCanUse
🔖 Save a webpage. 📚 Improve a book record. 🔎 Discover a document. 📣 Share a collection. 🏛️ Preserve local history.
The Internet Archive has tools for it all.
Over 8 weeks, we'll show you how.
➡️ blog.archive.org/2026/08/17/r...
#ToolsYouCanUse
Petition for a Fair Contract for RAU!. Sign here: actionnetwork.org/petitions/fa...
Petition for a Fair Contract for RAU!
Research Assistants at UAlbany and SUNY Binghamton voted overwhelmingly to unionize, and are now bargaining for their first contract. Unfortunately, negotiations have stalled on key demands such as a ...
actionnetwork.org
August 17, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Petition for a Fair Contract for RAU!. Sign here: actionnetwork.org/petitions/fa...
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
Yesterday, when I arrived in Denmark, a digital records mixup led to some issues at a passport control that were quickly and kindly resolved by helpful officials.
Meanwhile but Trump and Miller continue sending immigrations detainees to dark sites overseas, sometimes for similar errors.
Meanwhile but Trump and Miller continue sending immigrations detainees to dark sites overseas, sometimes for similar errors.
No Way Out (Gift Article)
The U.S. is building an archipelago of overseas detention sites where deportees are often held indefinitely without charge.
www.nytimes.com
August 17, 2026 at 5:50 AM
Yesterday, when I arrived in Denmark, a digital records mixup led to some issues at a passport control that were quickly and kindly resolved by helpful officials.
Meanwhile but Trump and Miller continue sending immigrations detainees to dark sites overseas, sometimes for similar errors.
Meanwhile but Trump and Miller continue sending immigrations detainees to dark sites overseas, sometimes for similar errors.
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
These gloves don't cause neuromuscular incapacitation the way that a taser does. In fact, they only work when applied directly to bare skin.
These aren't made for apprehending anyone. These have one and only one use: causing extreme pain to already-restrained captives.
In plain language: torture.
These aren't made for apprehending anyone. These have one and only one use: causing extreme pain to already-restrained captives.
In plain language: torture.
Zero surprise that these are explicitly designed to cause pain without leaving a mark, not to incapacitate.
Yes, we're spending $20M to buy ICE agents torture devices.
Yes, we're spending $20M to buy ICE agents torture devices.
August 15, 2026 at 4:38 AM
These gloves don't cause neuromuscular incapacitation the way that a taser does. In fact, they only work when applied directly to bare skin.
These aren't made for apprehending anyone. These have one and only one use: causing extreme pain to already-restrained captives.
In plain language: torture.
These aren't made for apprehending anyone. These have one and only one use: causing extreme pain to already-restrained captives.
In plain language: torture.
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
I took 3 years off between my MA & PHD to work as an immigration paralegal & then a Program Analyst at the US Commission on Immigration Reform. It gave me perspective; I didn't sweat the small stuff in grad school. And I looked like a completely different grad school candidate when applying.
fwiw I always rec taking a break between undergrad and grad school. doing so can help you realize later, if you do get a faculty gig in academia, that all workplaces are sort of hellscape microcosms of broader social issues and that higher ed isn't really unique in this regard.
August 10, 2026 at 5:49 PM
I took 3 years off between my MA & PHD to work as an immigration paralegal & then a Program Analyst at the US Commission on Immigration Reform. It gave me perspective; I didn't sweat the small stuff in grad school. And I looked like a completely different grad school candidate when applying.
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
Any successful writer or musician or illustrator has thousands of unpaid hours put into not just honing their craft but brute-forcing their way in front of the people who can actually get them money for their work.
But once you get work, you should be getting paid. Anything else is exploitation.
But once you get work, you should be getting paid. Anything else is exploitation.
August 11, 2026 at 12:21 AM
Any successful writer or musician or illustrator has thousands of unpaid hours put into not just honing their craft but brute-forcing their way in front of the people who can actually get them money for their work.
But once you get work, you should be getting paid. Anything else is exploitation.
But once you get work, you should be getting paid. Anything else is exploitation.
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
Additional context: the "grave" site is an ecologically significant area fans keep littering trash in. But I guess fans stopped them from building in that specific area, so they can keep trashing it instead?
ARE YOU KIDDING MEEEE
August 11, 2026 at 6:08 AM
Additional context: the "grave" site is an ecologically significant area fans keep littering trash in. But I guess fans stopped them from building in that specific area, so they can keep trashing it instead?
Reposted by Kass Sjostrom
You don't own your baby. A child is not property. They have a right to live that eclipses your right to believe stupid shit
July 23, 2026 at 5:14 AM
You don't own your baby. A child is not property. They have a right to live that eclipses your right to believe stupid shit